5 Ways to Engage Media and Influencers

As public relations professionals, we always have the goal of finding creative and fun ways to interact with the media and influencers. With the overarching goal of making your client and pitch stand out, there are a variety of innovative tactics you can take to differentiate your client from others.

Below are a few original tactics that are easy to execute and will show an immediate return on investment:

• Deskside Meetings - Instead of pitching the media via email or phone, why not interact with them in person. A deskside meeting is the perfect way to highlight your clients, as well as get some much-needed face time with reporters. Keep these meetings brief and tell the media your best elevator pitch. Also, leave behind a packet with essential information you want the media to know about your client, as well as a unique gift that makes your client stand out. The next time a reporter needs a source for a story your client will shoot to the top of their list.
• Food or Gift Drops – Another fun way to interact with the media and get out of the barriers of your office is to conduct food or gift drops. These drops include dropping off gifts (like food) to media and influencers and in exchange securing media and social media mentions. This tactic allows you to directly engage with the media in a less formal setting and usually results in great coverage. We suggest doing these drops around a fun holiday, ahead of a big event your client is executing or during some other newsworthy time. Don’t forget to include with your gift a fact sheet and some talking points about your client and what they are promoting. Media and influencers will most likely use these materials in their coverage.
• FAM Visits – FAM visits are a wonderful way to let the media and influencers experience everything your client has to offer. These FAM visits can include a day trip to a location, an overnight stay or a weekend excursion. These trips are completely complimentary for the media and influencers and can include complimentary hotel stays, meals, recreational activities and gifts. Custom agendas should be created for each FAM visit and include activities that the media and influencers cover. Also, ideally writers should be allowed to bring a guest or two with them. This will make the experience more genuine and give them someone to enjoy it with. In exchange for the complimentary FAM visit ask writers to agree to author at least one story after the trip, as well as frequently post on social media throughout their adventure.
• Satellite Media Tours – Satellite media tours (SMT) are a creative way to reach television and radio media that you typically might not engage with. SMTs are usually a combination of earned and paid media interviews that are aired on TV and radio stations across the country. The script and interview questions for the SMT are written in advance and shared with the media ahead of the interviews. SMT topics that usually engage audiences focus on unique tips, insights around certain holidays and other timely information that intrigues audiences. SMTS also position clients as thought leaders and can result in future media opportunities.
• Twitter Chats – Finally, a lighthearted way to engage with media and influencers is to host a Twitter chat. We suggest hosting an already well-established Twitter chat that has many participants. These chats typically take place on the same day and time each week and have many weekly participants. The script for the Twitter chat is created weeks before the chat and can be scheduled ahead of time, so clients don’t have to worry about posting during the chat. After the chat we suggest creating a detailed report that highlights the number of participants, key takeaways and the client’s overall return on investment. The goal of most Twitter chats is to position your client as a thought leader, drive traffic to their website and increase their social media followers.

As you finalize your strategies for clients, consider executing the above tactics. These tactics will result in a return on investment, as well help you build new relationships with key media and influencers.